None of the Big Four Accountancy firms operating in the UK featured in the top four of the survey conducted to find the best auditors.

The study, conducted by Accountancy Age and questioning finance chiefs from a crosssection of UK PLCs, suggests mid-tier firms are gaining ground on the Big Four accountancy firms in audit service offering.

Of those who answered the UK-wide survey, around 10 per cent of respondents were Scottish-based companies.

Respondents complained some of the UK's biggest audit firms had shown a "mechanical", "tick-box" mentality focused mainly on "form filling and risk-avoidance" rather than "delving deeper to understand the underlying drivers and associated risks of the business."

The cost of audit services was also criticised, with billing said to be "opaque billing structures" and some firms complained "organisational cock-ups" made by the audit firms were passed on in their bill. Peter Joy, the author of the report, said FDs were frustrated at the level of bureaucracy evident in dealing with the Big Four firms and expected them to "do better with the resources they have at their disposal."

He added: "One of the most common complaints we received in comments from finance controllers in PLCs was of 'clueless' junior auditors and the fact they had very little contact with the partner managing the audit." Joy compiled the study of 635 FDs, CFOs and financial controllers between August and October 2009 from a questionnaire addressing the service they received from their audit firm.

Respondents were instructed to grade the firm which had conducted their last completed audit, on five distinct aspects of service including accessibility and communication, technical skills, understanding the business being audited, transparency of billing and initiative and added value.

A spokesperson for Ernst & Young said: "These findings are wholly inconsistent with the positive and detailed feedback we receive from our clients and other stakeholders.

"We are committed to audit quality and delivering technical excellence to our clients."

Kpmg said: "We are committed to the very highest standards of audit quality and service, and demonstrate this across a range of clients from the largest listed to the smallest privately-owned."